


Afterspark Podcast: G1 Episode 33: Auto Berserk

by specspectacle, Twilight-Owls (LadyTorix)



Series: Afterspark Podcast: Transformers G1 [34]
Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Embedded Video, Episode Commentary, Episode Review, Podcast, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes, Swearing, Video, YouTube, transcript
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24697117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/specspectacle/pseuds/specspectacle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTorix/pseuds/Twilight-Owls
Summary: Red Alert takes a missile to the face and suddenly thinks his friends is out to get him.  But unfortunately, he trusts the one bot he really shouldn't...
Series: Afterspark Podcast: Transformers G1 [34]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1220114
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Afterspark Podcast: G1 Episode 33: Auto Berserk

**Author's Note:**

> As always, if you need an audio only version of the podcast please check out the links at the end of the transcript.

[Stinger]

S: Grapple and Hoist heave the Negavat- well no, Grapple and Hoist-

O: They heave it, they heave it good! [laughs]

S: [laughs] Yes.

[Intro Music]

O: Hello, and welcome to the Afterspark Podcast, and episode by episode recap of the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon. I'm Owls!

S: And I’m Specs.

O: Today we're going to be talking about episode number 33, ‘Auto Berserk’. Let's talk about giant robots today, shall we?

S: Sure.

O: And no doubt you've noticed, dear listener, we are again in our coronavirus void, uh, recording at our respective apartments because we don't have much of a choice right now. So we do apologize if there are any sound issues. We are doing the best with what we've got right now. And today, we open with a test of the  _ Negavator! _

S: Which the Autobots seem to actually be doing but the humans appear to be uh, participating or monitoring to uh, some degree.

O: Which, you know, after this is all done the Autobots congratulate Wheeljack on a job well done and some scientists are  _ extremely _ happy when this giant ass tower disappears. Of course, immediately after one says, “Don't forget your tape recorder.”

S: Soundwave is practicing his passive social engineering. You know, like you do.

O: Like you do. So Soundwave attacks, and the Autobots move to intercept him.

S: Red Alert is like, really mad that Inferno isn't staying with him, and Inferno just thinks that his boyfriend is cramping his style.

O: Oh, poor Red. Uh, the Autobots  _ really _ don't want the Decepticons to get their brand-new toy of destruction.

S: I have to question what the practical purpose of this thing is?

O: I mean, presumably, destroying Decepticons? I don't know! For uh, non- for them practic- you know, being like, they're all for peace, they do an awful lot of ass-kicking, I'm just saying. [laughs]

S: Yeah…

O: So, Soundwave then sends out all of us cassettes, all at one time.

S: They attack the bunker that the Autobots are in, collapsing the door and trapping them. And Grapple is sad that they're destroying his beautiful, beautiful, bunker.

O: Poor Grapple, he just doesn't want his hard work- hard work ruined, it's always ruined.

S: Honestly, that has to be incredibly depressing, having everything that you build destroyed.

O: And you just know it like, happens with extreme reg- regularity, right? Like, everything they build gets destroyed by the Decepticons, basically. [laughs]

S: Yup.

O: Um, so Soundwave is moving in on the Negavator, but Red Alert is controlling it remotely and shooting back at him.

S: Red Alert is playing as a realest video game.

O: Shoot the Decepticon! Red Alert really doesn't want to be left alone, as Inferno again says he wants to go out and help the others before leaving the room.

S: Grapple and Hoist begin to clear the rubble from the entrance allowing the Autobots to escape.

O: They begin fighting with Frenzy and Laserbeak, but Optimus steps in front of the Negavater making it so Red can no longer get a clear shot at the Decepticons.

S: [sighs] Optimus.

O: [laughs] “I'm helping!”

S: Don't play chicken with something that…

O: Can disintegrate you, or something bigger than you in one shot?

S: Or send you to the negative zone or whatever the hell it’s supposed to do.

O: [laughs] “You're going to the Shadow Realm!”

B: [laugh]

S: Yeah, so, because Optimus does the dumb thing, this allows Rumble to gain access to the cockpit of the Negavator.

O: Because this  _ has _ a cockpit, despite Red Alert controlling it remotely.

S: [sighs] I don't know, man. They wanted a backup and in this case the backup was a bad idea.

O: In this case the backup was a back door for the Decepticons to get into their cockpit!

S: Oh god, a literal backdoor.

O: Yeah.

S: [sighs] And that-

O: We have multiples of that this episode. [laughs]

S: Yeah, they really do. But the Negavator is shot, and Rumble gets out before he's able to inflict any damage on the Autobots.

O: Soundwave and company retreat, but Rumble leaves a parting gift in the form of a rocket that manages to hit Red Alert who’s all- in- who’s all the way in the bunker, may I might- may I remind you!

S: Yup, it is a major tracking thing- honestly, Red Alert just got hit by the plot.

O: Which considering it's a Red Alert centered episode, they had to get him somehow.

S: Yeah, Red Alert needed to get some whump.

O: [laughs]

S: So he- Red Alert’s buried under rubble, crying out for Inferno.

O: Hoist is able to free him, but when Inferno arrives afterwards, Red is very angry at him for leaving.

S: Yup, later Red Alert talks to Optimus, seeming progressively more paranoid the longer they talk. He even thinks that Inferno wants his job.

O: I feel I can safely say, no one wants your job, Red.

S: Yeah, Red Alert has clearly been badly affected by Rumble’s rocket as his head keeps fritzing out and causing him pain and distress.

O: Despite this being  _ very _ obvious to anybody looking at him, Optimus doesn't order him to go, you know, get himself checked out, go get help. He may strongly suggest it but he doesn't order it, this was his first mistake.

S: [sharp intake of breath] Yeah... the Autobots head back to base while the Cons watch on their TV monitor from, you know, their own base. And Megatron calls Soundwave an ‘incompetent fool’.

O: Ah-hem! Um, EXCUSE me? Soundwave is the most competent Con you have, except for maybe Laserbeak and/or Ravage.

S: Don't you know? No one's as good as Megatron, even when Megatron fails. Plus... Megatron just really, really wants the big gun.

O: ...Does he- does he need a gun friend?

S: He wants to compensate for something.

O: I think he already is, isn’t he? [laughs]

S: Oh, he is, but he needs more compensation.

O: He turns into a gun and has a giant Fusion Cannon, you cannot tell me he’s not compensating for something! [laughs]

S: Well, if he wants to comp- he wants to compensate more.

O: [laughs] He must compensate  _ more _ for his clone of Optimus Prime, got it!

B: [laugh]

O: You know that thing lives in a closet somewhere, Specs! You know it! [laughs]

S: Yeah, I know.

O: [laughs]

S: I know. [sighs]

O: [laughs] This, and Russian Ravage, these are the only two uh, reoccurring jokes we have, we're sorry people.

S: Yeah…

B: [laugh]

S: [sighs] Starscream volunteers to go get the Negavator for him.

O: Which doesn't seem to be what happens, as the next thing we see is Megatron and Rumble on top of a ridge overlooking the Autobots.

S: Optimus hears something, but when he asks Red Alert to analyze it poor Red fritzs again and says that everything is fine.

O: And they are driving through a canyon, of course.

S: Yeah.

O: So, Rumble causes a rockslide that falls on top of Ironhide and Optimus, and then Megatron orders the rest of the Cons to attack.

S: Grapple and Hoist leave the Negavator unguarded, as they rush in to help, with Hoist-

O: [interrupting] Megatron’s very happy about this development! Sorry.

S: Yeah, it’s okay. Hoist, I think, was driving the Negavator?

O: Yeah, I think so.

S: But don't ask me how- how anything- somehow the Negavator’s cockpit is one size fits all.

O: Oh yes.

S: And then Smokescreen attempts to hide the Negavator by generating some smoke.

O: The Seekers drive- er, drive? Fly through the cloud and temporarily lose their ability to navigate.

S: That this is honestly a terrifying thing that Smokescreen’s smoke can do. [sighs]

O: Yeah, especially for flyers.

S: Yeah. [sighs] So two of the Seekers run into each other, and then Starscream runs into a wall.

O: The smoke does not appear to detour Megatron much though.

S: He does kind of bang face-first into the Negavator.

O: [snorts] True.

S: And then he gets into that one-size-fits-all cockpit and now he’s the one controlling it.

O: I mean like, okay- I mean- at least Megatron can mass shift?

S: That’s a good point.

O: Like, Rumble’s roughly people sized I could see him fitting, you know? Um, even, you know, uh, Hoist isn't super, super big. But Megatron getting in there? That's- that’s a stretch unless he's mass shifting.

S: Yeah, but Hoist- Hoist somehow has managed to fit in Grapple’s ca- Grapple’s coc- not cockpit…

O: Uh, like his cab?

S: -driving compartment.

O: Yeah.

S: Cab, yes. So, I don't know, maybe Hoist can also mass shift?

O: Everything can mass shift from Cybertron. [laughs]

S: Maybe? Ramjet [laughs] lives up to his name by ramming into the Negavater and knocking Megatron out of it.

O: “I've got morons on my team!” [laughs]

S: That is true.

O: He does-

S: I mean, most-

O: -he does. [laughs]

S: Yeah, most the Decepticons are not... not the brightest.

O: I mean, the Coneheads especially, I feel like aren't terribly bright.

S: And Ram- Ramjet, his entire thing is hitting things with his head.

O: And- that can’t be good on the old positronic brain.

S: Yeah…

O: [laughs]

S: Hopefully, they have good health insurance.

O: They’re Cons, you know they don’t. [laughs]

S: Yeah, that’s true.

O: They don’t even have a doctor, Specs!

S: I think that Constructicons, at least fanonically, fit into that role, but…

O: Probably, but they didn’t have a doctor for the entire first season! Allow me to phrase it that way.

S: Starscream and Soundwave are probably the closest they had to doctors.

O: You're probably right, and that is scary. I don't think I’d want Starscream operating on me, personally. Just saying.

S: Yeah, huh, so the Cons retreat, leaving Starscream behind.

O: The rockslide is going to take  _ days _ to clear, apparently?

S: But why do they need to clear it? Why do they spend so much time driving in canyons? Do they like off-roading? Most of them aren't even built for off-roading. So what's the point?

O: Nobody knows. Optimus asks why Red Alert didn't warn them, to which Red Alert says, “They're all out to get him!”

S: And Optimus says that Red Alert uh, needs a complete overhaul. [sighs]

O: Well, okay, maybe don't praise it like that. He's already paranoid as hell, he doesn't need help!

S: Optimus needs to go through some sensitivity training I think.

O: Yeah, we'll just- we're just gonna have, you know, a Leadership Summit that both Optimus and Megatron need to attend for vastly different reasons. [laughs]

S: Yeah. Ah, Red knocks down Inferno and Grapple before running off into a forest.

O: Starscream watches all this and says that Megatron will regret abandoning him.

S: Starscream wants everyone to regret everything to do with him.

O: Pretty much.

S: I feel like.

O: I- I feel like, probably, many people do regret things that involve Starscream.

S: Yeah. Red escapes into a city in his alt mode, and the others give chase. And Ironhide finds what he thinks is Red Alert, speaking soothingly to him and gently picks him up.

O: Can we talk about how gosh darn cute this is? Ironhide’s a good friend! [laughs]

S: He is. Ironhide and like, Perceptor can run the sensitivity training.

O: Yeah, you know I- well, okay I don't know if I think Ironhide could do it, but Perceptor definitely could. Um, admittedly, I would love to see a sensitivity training ran by Ratchet?

S: [laughs]

O: I'm not saying he'd be particularly good at it, but I am saying the lectures would be  _ amazing. _

S: Yeah, in context this is by a place that is on fire, so a fire chief runs up and says, “Hey! That's mine! Put it back where you found it.”

O: [laughs] So, Ironhide puts it down and apologizes, saying it looked like a ‘friend of mine’.

S: And in the context of this... part of the reason this is funny, at least to me, is that Red Alert is a Lamborghini.

O: Fire Lamborghini!

S: Yep.

O: [laughs]

S: Ironhide had followed the fire Lamborghini to where this fire was happening. [sighs]

O: Yep, and then uh, and- you know, where Red Alert  _ actually  _ is, he is lured into a garage by Starscream who puts his hand on the shoulder.

S: Ohhh, bad touch.

O: Optimus then makes an executive decision to leave Red be and get the Negavator back to a more defensible location, or back to the bunker they were just at.

S: They got to save some money, gotta reuse, um, prior locations.

O: True.

S: Or maybe prior backgrounds? I don't know. [sighs] Grapple says, “But Red’s circuits are going to explode if we don't help him soon!” Grapple-

O: Well, that’s news to the rest of us!

S: Yeah. Grapple has uh, has his priorities straight, I guess.

O: [laughs]

S: I don't know. The fact that this is how they choose to convey this information to the viewer, I mean, that is kind of weird.

O: It really is, it really comes out of  _ nowhere! _ But Optimus says their energy level’s too low to withstand another Decepticon attack.

S: Oh, they got to get back and share those beds.

O: Which are presumably portable, that they've set up in the bunker?

S: Maybe? Oh fu- or god- or they brought a bunch of quick charge packs or something that they charged up using the beds.

O: I’m just thinking, like, you know, um, like a camp- like the Cybertronian equivalent to a camping cot.

S: Well, I was thinking it's like a nap in like, a box or something.

O: [laughs] Like a na- a nap in a bottle?

S: Yeah, I don't know. Ah.. and then meanwhile Starscream is gaslighting poor Red Alert into letting him get to the Negavator.

O: You know, with the good side of buttering him up, and Red is so out of it he ultimately agrees to this.

S: The Autobots put the Negavator in a really stupidly designed bunker with incredibly convenient air holes.

O: All the more for Red Alerts to get in!

S: Ravage spies on Red and Starscream entering the base, while Megatron also watches or watches through Ravage’s...

O: I think so.

S: Screen relay?

O: Which is weird, he’s not usually the one doing that. Ramjet and Thrust though, are apparently very ready to weld their own air commander to a wall. Volunteering to catch up with Starscream. But Megatron has an even better plan, why do work when other people can do it for you?

S: Well, I mean, conservation of resources.

O: True. True.

S: Back with the Autobots, Smokescreen and Wheeljack are going to try and find Red Alert.

O: Golly! I hope we can find our friend before he explodes.

S: Well, I mean, they've got the ‘master of explosions’ on task so… Hopefully he can find them or-

O: [laughs] Again! We're putting Wheeljack in charge of stopping explosions! This does not seem like the best use of your uh, your ‘accidental explosion expert’.

S: Maybe he's just good at finding them before they happen? So...

O: [laughs] He’s attracted to explosions, that's why they're using him.

S: [laughs] Red and Starscream enter the tunnels under the bunker, trying to avoid some horrible eldritch abomination of a machine. And honestly, it really is.

O: Starscream screeches, “I don't want to die!” before brute forcing his way through a gate. And they reach the Negavator.

S: Starscream sounds oddly breathless about this.

O: Look, Megatron is happy about well-built shit, Starscream as a science nerd. That's just the truth, man.

S: True. Red Alert hops into the machine and shoots the gate, making it disappear and allowing him and Starscream to get the Negavator out.

O: Megatron shows up. Him and Starscream bicker, you know, normal. Good thing Starscream does some real smooth-talking, cuz Megatron sounds  _ kinda _ jealous here, not gonna lie.

S: Mm-hmm, but Red's not super happy about relinquishing his newfound power. And, I mean, he's gotten a taste of that power so he's- who would want to let it go without a fight? Not that, that paranoia he's dealing with us helping him right now, at all.

O: Right. Red and Starscream struggle, but Red Alert is miraculously healed when he's hit with a shot from Starscream's Null Ray.

S: Or at least forcibly dragged into sanity. Or back-

O: For a limited time.

S: -back into his right mind, yeah. He gets into the Negavator and uses it against the Decepticons turning the tide of the fight into the Autobots’ favor... and I don't think we mentioned that the Autobots finding it out about them getting in there at all?

O: [laughs] They do, and they all just they just sort of shout at Red to stop, and it was just, Megatron showed up like three seconds later. It felt very pointless.

S: Yeah.

O: But Optimus and Ironhide waddle to victory.

S: [laughs] The Cons retreat, but the Negavator blows up anyway and somehow this leads to a lot of smoke. So why are the Autobots coughing?

O: A bad habit they picked up from their squishies? ...Or at least that's what I'd say, if Megatron hadn't also been doing it earlier when he was in the middle of Smokescreen’s smoke. [laughs]

S: Yeah. Red Alert dives in... like, at this point I think most of the Autobots are like, outside and Red Alert is still inside, in the- in the bunker and Inferno dives in- or rus- rushes in to help him. Because Red's been caught in the explosion.

O: Another explosion, and the rest of the Autobots think Inferno and Red are both dead.

S: Optimus says, “I should have gone myself!” All self-flagellating- flagillating? Flagellating? I can never remember how it’s pronounced.

O: I- I just think- Optimus, do- do you need to talk to somebody?

S: Oh, they need a therapist.

O: Yeah! Er- poor Rung. Rung should have existed in G1. I think everybody would have been healthier if Rung existed in G1!

S: Oh yeah, but Red and Inferno are fine.

O: Red apologizes, Optimus tells them, “It's fine.”

S: Red says something about friendship, friendship, blah- blah- blah, and then the episode ends. And also this entire time, Inferno is cradling Red Alert in his arms in a princess carry.

O: [laughs] Definitely! They're definitely boyfriends, no one can convince me otherwise. But join us next time for episode 34,  _ City of Steel!  _ Learn more about six do-it-yourself projects utilizing your Optimus Prime.

S: [laughs] Yup.

O: [laughs]

S: We've got some uh, fanfic recommendations for today.

O: Yes we do!

S: Which I think you were actually just going to say too.

O: [laughs] We’ll get there, one way or another we'll get to the fanfic.

S: Okay, so, the first one up is  _ A Most Reluctant Noah _ by The Starhorse. It's based on the G1 cantu- cartoon, um, rated G, it's Gen, there's no pairings. Characters are the G1 Autobots. There may be some Decepticons, but I think it's just the Autobots. This is one that I-

O: I’m pretty sure it’s just Autobots.

S: Yeah, I haven't read it in a while, but it's one that I do remember enjoying. So, in summary, “First it rained...and then it rained more...and then it just kept on raining…” And so, the theme for both of these is, Red Alert, basically being a pretty…

O: Central character?

S: Yes, thank you. And this is a complete one shot, it was actually written, er- The Starhorse wrote it for someone? Eh.. I think because of a contest? I don't actually remember what the contest was, it's mentioned- I believe, in the- the notes.

O: Probably.

S: Yeah. Uh, the second one is  _ Overkill _ by Ultionic. It's G1 cartoon, rated G, it's Gen, no pairings, and the characters are Optimus Prime and Red Alert. And in summary, “Optimus thinks that Red Alert’s new security system for the Autobot base may be a little, um, over the top.”

O: [laughs]

S: And again, Red Alert themed. This is a one-shot drabble and it's complete. And it was pretty short but also pretty fun.

O: Fun at any length is always a good thing.

[ **Note:** Our apologies, the author has removed  _ Overkill _ since we recorded this episode, so it’s no longer available.]

S: And I think you have fanart recommendations for today?

O: Yes, I do. So our um, recommendation for today is KKing. Um, they have a Tumblr, a Pixiv and a Twitter, and they primarily were doing Beast Wars and Animated, but there's quite a lot of different art. Um, they have a lot of humorous comics, or kind of sketchy drawings and for today we have um, Megatron and Dinobot having a discussion that's kind of serious. (Ah, Beast Wars Megatron.) But I really like it, uh, and then HONOR uh, Dinobot-

S: [laughs]

O: -which is a delight. And then um, a Mega- a very Megatron Christmas. It- it is also a delight it's literally one of my favorite pieces of fan- fan art ever um, because I love Beast Wars and it's just a bunch of the Predacons and it's completely, wonderfully, absurd.

S: The number of hats that Megatron is wearing or-

O: Yes, yes! Well, no, I don't think he's wearing a hat I think he might have a bag?

S: His dinosaur head is wearing- oh, I thought that was a hat that his dinosaur head was wearing.

O: Oh no, no, no, I meant on his back but yes, the dinosaur head is wearing a hat as is his ducky.

S: Yeah, actually the ducky and the dinosaur head are what I was thinking of.

O: [laughs] Yes, for those of you haven't seen Beast Wars, Beast Wars Megatron has a ducky, that I shit you not, shows up in at least multiple scenes. Um-

S: He’s also got-

O: In his jacuzzi of evil. [laughs]

S: Yes, I was gonna say he's got a jacuzzi.

O: [laughs] Jacuzzi of evil! I mean, look, if you're gonna hold council with your bastards you might as well be comfortable doing it, right? [laughs]

S: Yeah, for some reason I've just had the sudden... I don't know [sighs] mental assertion that someone in that show basically had rollerskates

O: Uh, you're not wrong, because Megatron's second frame absolutely is a- is a rollerskating t-rex. I shit you not, there's an entire scene where he's rollerscoot- rollerskating slowly around someone in a vaguely menacing fashion. It's amazing.

S: It’s-

O: You all wonder why I love Beast Wars so much. This is why I love Beast Wars so much. I get good writing, and I get completely stupid shit like this! [laughs]

S: It's been a while since I watched it but, that's probably what came to my mind.

O: [laughs] I’m just saying, Beast Wars Megatron is a  _ delight. _ “Yesss~”

S: Okay, and that just about wraps it up for us today. Remember to check us out on Tumblr or Pillowfort as Afterspark-Podcast for any additional information, show notes, or links we may have mentioned. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at AftersparkPod (all one word), and various other locations by searching for Afterspark Podcast such as AO3, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Youtube, just to name a few. And feel free to send us questions on Tumblr or Youtube. Till next time, I'm Specs.

O: And I’m Owls.

S: Toodles.

[Outro Music]

**Author's Note:**

> **Fanfic Recommendations:**
> 
>   * [A Most Reluctant Noah](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4077852/1/A-Most-Reluctant-Noah) by [The Starhorse ](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/852445/The-Starhorse)
>   * ~~Overkill by Ultionic~~ _-This one has been removed since we recorded this episode, sorry guys!_
> 

> 
> **Fanartist Recommendation:** [@kkingkk](https://kkingkk.tumblr.com/)
> 
>   * [Pixiv](https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/2281753/artworks)
>   * [Tumblr](https://kkingkk.tumblr.com/)
>   * [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kking_draws)
> 

> 
> Favorite Art:
> 
>   * [A Predacon Christmas](http://kkingkk.tumblr.com/post/155250946212/super-late-xmas-and-happy-new-year)
>   * [Dinobot HONOR](http://kkingkk.tumblr.com/post/114835325837/my-best-dinobot-fanart-so-far-i-guess)
>   * [Dinobot and Megatron](http://kkingkk.tumblr.com/post/145462627247/dinobot-and-megatron)
> 

> 
> **Where to find us:**
> 
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